Vying for views
Google has announced the top 10 most viewed ads on YouTube Malaysia, revealing a few interesting trends about advertising on its video sharing website.
“Let’s face it, nobody comes to Youtube just for the ads,” says sajith sivanandan, managing director of Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and new emerging markets at Google.
Nevertheless, as companies vie for the eyeballs of the Internet generation, advertising on Youtube is increasingly becoming an important part of any company’s visibility.
Google has announced the top 10 advertisements on Youtube Malaysia from January to June 2015, inviting some of its partners to give insights into what captures the attention of Malaysians when it comes to advertising.
the period chosen by Google coincides with Chinese New Year and Hari Raya, so not surprisingly, many of the ads celebrate the two occasions.
In ascending order, the most watched Youtube ads were made by online shopping site 11street. my, electronics giant samsung, Knife cooking oil, Honda, Nestle’s Koko Krunch, tenaga Nasional, tesco, Maxis and, in the top spot, Malaysia Airlines.
New approach to ads
Interestingly, with the exception of two ads, most didn’t spotlight the company or its products – instead, each was crafted more like a short film.
In fact, the ad from Malaysia Airlines runs for nearly 12 minutes, far longer than the normal 30 seconds reserved for ads on TV.
In creating the ad, which currently has over 1.6 million views on Youtube, Mohd Hisham saleh, head of social media and innovations at Malaysia Airlines, took a hands- on approach, helping to co- write the script based on his own short story about the true meaning of the ang pow ( or red packet) given out on Chinese New Year.
Hisham says that one of his goals was to help change the perception of the national carrier which has seen its public image tarnished by the loss of two of planes and a subsequent reorganisation.
even Hisham is surprised at how many people watched the ad all the way through – he feels that the first few seconds are critical in hooking the audience, especially before they are given the option to skip the ad.
Language barrier
the top 10 videos also point to an interesting trend in advertising. According to sulin Lau, head of marketing services for Maxis, its most successful ads are the ones where the characters speak in any language BUT english.
In fact, the company’s popular ad ( with over a million views) for Hotlink prepaid features Chinese, Indian and Malay grannies singing and rapping a song in their own dialects.
Lau says that while Maxis has no specific strategy for Youtube ads, the company uses a so- called “taxi driver test” to evaluate how shareable its ads are because they are entertaining or thought provoking enough to be talked about by everyone, including cab drivers.
she also says it’s also important to cap the frequency at which any one user sees the same ad. Depending on the type of ad, Maxis caps the frequency at between three and five times.
Meanwhile, online shopping retailer 11street. my had a specific strategy to appeal to a younger generation when it produced a series of connected advertisements structured like a south Korean drama featuring south Korean star Lee Min- ho and Malaysian actress emily Chan.
Google won’t go into specifics on how it ranked the ads but sajith says it accounts for “organic” or natural views, including the number of unique visitors that viewed the ads through social media, as well as promoted views, which are ads that are played before a Youtube video.
If you are interested to watch the top 10 ads, surf to our playlist at goo. gl/ 4qtwKc.